The Science of Archimedes | Now Open! | Through June 1, 2025

Get ready to shout, “EUREKA!” ✨

Our newest traveling exhibit, The Science of Archimedes, is now open!

This family-friendly exhibition offers numerous hands-on experiments that reveal Archimedes' groundbreaking scientific discoveries and their relevance to our modern world.

Here are a few fun facts to spark your curiosity about the man himself, Archimedes:

📚 His innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries revolutionized mathematics, physics, and engineering, leaving a lasting impact on these fields.

🔩 Though it bears his name, there’s debate over whether he actually invented the famous ‘Archimedes Screw.’

🤡 He was known for teasing fellow mathematicians by solving complex puzzles but keeping the methods to himself!

Tickets to Archimedes are $8 for adults and $6 for children (ages 2-12) and seniors (65+) for non-members. Tickets for Family or Companion Members are $7 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. Back Stage, All Access, and Galactic Members and children under 2 are free. Non-members must also pay general museum admission.

The Science of Archimedes is presented by the Leinweber Foundation with additional support from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council.

Welcome Our New Invaders: Sea Lampreys! | Saturday, November 2 | 11:00am

Thanks to the generosity of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Institute is excited to welcome our newest residents, sea lampreys!

Join us on Saturday, November 2, to celebrate the arrival of these invasive species, famously known as the vampire fish! With over 100 sharp, hooked teeth and a suction-cup mouth, these invasive Great Lakes predators can kill up to 40 pounds of fish in their lifetime!

This event will be a rare opportunity for both children and adults to learn directly from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission on how to control this invasive species and conserve our Great Lakes fish populations. Experiences during this event include: 

🩸 Get up close with these two-foot long, five pound sea lampreys! 

🐟 Enjoy mini presentations from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

🌊 Engage in hands-on activities hosted by UD-Mercy Museum Studies students

⛵ Design a device to remove garbage from the Great Lakes

🐍 Make your own lamprey papercraft to take home

🐠 Follow Fred the Fish as he travels down the stream in an interactive journey

💧 End the day with a showing of the award-winning, feature-length documentary: The Fish Thief - to start promptly at 2:30pm (recommended for adults) 

Activities are FREE with the purchase of general museum admission.

Vote for Science! | Tuesday, November 5 | 11:00am - 3:00pm

Grab your ballots and join us on Tuesday, November 5 in the campaign for science!

From determining dino skulls to choosing your favorite creepy crawler, it’s your chance to cast your vote for science, including:

🦖 Dino Debate: Is our dino skull cast a Tyrannosaurus or Nanotyrannus?

🦗 Snack Showdown: Choose your favorite edible insect - barbecue mealworms or honey roasted crickets? 

🔭 Super Sight: Would you rather have telescope vision or microscope vision? 

🐝 Bug Life Battle: Would you rather live as a honey bee or spider?

🐢 Armor Up: What is the best animal body armor - scutes, shells, fur, or scales?

🚀 Travel through time or explore our universe? Experience both in our planetarium!

🔬 And more!

Activities are FREE, with the exception of the planetarium, with the purchase of general admission.

FREE Speaker Series | Dr. Eddie Game | Eavesdropping on Conservation in the Asia Pacific! | Thursday, November 7 

How can we measure the health of the rainforest? By eavesdropping of course! 

Join us on Thursday, November 7 for an exclusive FREE installment of our Speaker Series featuring Dr. Eddie Game, Lead Scientist and Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific region. 

Eddie will share his groundbreaking work using ecoacoustics to monitor forest health in Papua New Guinea, addressing a critical question in conservation: how can we be certain that our efforts are truly conserving biodiversity in tropical forests?

Don’t miss this fascinating talk about how eavesdropping on the sounds of rainforests can provide vital data for conservation.

Doors open at 6:00 pm, with the talk and Q&A starting at 7:00 pm. 

This Speaker Series is presented in partnership with the Michigan chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

Fibonacci Day! | November 23, 2024 | 11:00am - 2:30pm

Join us as we celebrate the brilliant Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, or more popularly known as Fibonacci, and explore the wonders of his iconic Fibonacci Sequence of 1123 on 11.23 - see what we did there? 😉

This famous pattern, which begins with 1, 1, 2, 3, and continues infinitely, is found throughout nature from the arrangement of leaves on plants, to the spirals in galaxies, and even the proportions of the human body. Experiences during this event include: 

🔍 Find Fibonacci: Explore how this sequence appears in numbers, spirals, and the natural world 

🎨 Pinecone art: Color the spirals on pinecones to create your own Fibonacci-inspired masterpiece

🕵️ Code breaker: Crack the Roman numeral code to reveal a hidden message

👁 Radiant rectangles: Discover why rectangles shaped by Fibonacci proportions are considered the most visually pleasing

🌼 Fibonacci flowers: Design and take home your own Fibonacci-inspired flower

Activities are FREE with the purchase of general admission.

Paleo Blitz | Friday, November 29 & Saturday, November 30 | 11:00am to 3:00pm daily 

Move over Black Friday! Museum Friday is here - Paleo Blitz edition! 

Join the Institute for one of our favorite days of the year, full of fossil-frenzy and science exploration. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in scavenger hunts, investigation stations, and discovering unique minerals up close.

Activities are FREE with the purchase of general admission.

Don’t Forget! 

• Please note, the Institute will be closed on Thursday, November 28, 2024 in observance of the holiday.
• Register for Free First Friday (November 1), courtesy of MASCO, to get FREE admission to the Institute! Walk-ups welcome between 10:00am - 5:00pm. Pre-registration is required after 5:00pm. 
• Experience everything the museum has to offer for only $5 every Friday after 5:00pm! General admission and Acheson Planetarium tickets will be available for just $5 each. Learn more.